Mumbai/Ahmedabad: The apparel park is likely to go on stream in the next one-and-a-half years.

With the state government approving land for a domestic apparel park in the Budget, the Gujarat Garment Manufacturers’ Association (GGMA) is planning to invest around Rs 150 crore in the project.

Around 602 members of the association have evinced interest in setting up units in the proposed park, which would come up on the erstwhile Ambica Mills’ property in the old city area of Ahmedabad. The project will involve an investment of around Rs 25-30 by each member.

“Construction work on the park will begin from November this year. We expect the apparel park to be commissioned within the next one-and-a-half years. While the exact investment details are yet to be ascertained, roughly an amount of Rs 150 crore will be invested by the members jointly,” said Arpan Shah, spokesperson for GGMA.

However, the association has sought more space from the government as the park, spread across an area of 520,000 sft, would not be sufficient. “Considering that we have over 600 members, the apparel park requirement runs into over 2 million sft. The Ambica Mills’ property spans only around 520,000 sft. Therefore, we have requested the state government to provide us with more space and more such properties,” Shah added.

The government, meanwhile, has applied for denotification of a part of the upcoming garment SEZ in Sarangpur to convert it into a domestic apparel park.

Saurabh Patel, state industries minister, said, “Not many registrations were coming in from apparel exporters but there was considerable demand from the domestic ones. Hopefully, we should soon be able to provide GGMA with more land.”

The association has sought four more domestic apparel parks, apart from the Ambica Mills property.